What comes next after the March for Our Lives?
The students are already planning another school walkout on April 20.
But before then, they are calling for every member of Congress to hold a town hall. The students-turned-activists set up a website, thetownhallproject.com, to organize the effort.
David Hogg, one of the Parkland teen organizers, took to Twitter on Sunday afternoon asking for suggested dates for activists to pressure their members of Congress to hold town halls. And the plan is moving forward:
What Comes After The March For Our Lives?
“If your local legislator refuses to come for whatever reason, simply invite their opponent,” Hogg told us. “It’s as simple as that.”
That electoral activism is where it’s really going to make a difference, according to Lois Beckett, a reporter for The Guardian who covers gun policy. In 1999, the Million Mom March brought hundreds of thousands of people to Washington, but didn’t make a difference in the elections.
“What really matters is what happens in the 2018 midterms,” Beckett said. “If pro-gun lawmakers are voted out because of the actions of students then this march will have made a big difference.”
I would suggest that local media outlets organize these town halls, but here in Arizona they are more useless than a screen door on a submarine.
Perhaps the League of Women Voters and the Interfaith Councils could cosponsor these town halls? Just one suggestion.
Here in CD 2, Congresswoman Martha McSally has no use for her constituents as she is running for Jeff Flake’s Senate seat. I doubt that she would agree to a town hall.
She does not hold public constituent town halls. She only holds private events in front of hand-picked friendly audiences.
Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords nearly lost her life holding Congress on Your Corner events.
Martha McSally, the self-described “woman warrior” and “salty talk” tough guy, prefers to hide from her constituents in her chicken bunker.
UPDATE: (h/t Daily Kos) As soon as Town Hal Project heard about the students’ “Town Hall for Our Lives” plan, they went to work and posted a step-by-step guide to organizing a successful town hall meeting, including how to embarrass a congress member who refuses to show up. They even keep a list of those who haven’t shown up for a single one during this legislative session
Go check out Town Hall Project’s map and see if your representative or senator has a meeting planned [No, Martha McSally does not.]. And if you’d like to financially support the work they do on behalf of accountability in government (as with all the allies we highlight, C&J is in for $25), their Act Blue donation link is here. In the immortal words of their About page: “You have more power than you think. Town halls are one of the most effective ways to use it. Remember: you are their boss.”
Follow Town Hall Project on twitter here and on evil Facebook here.
Seriously, I think that Martha McSally has nothing but contempt for most of her constituents in CD2. But, of course, the House job was merely the first step on her way to the Big Job that she now hopes Trump will bestow upon her for her loyalty.
The Town Hall project is a great idea. Hopefully, the CD2 Democratic candidates will step up after Martha refuses.